The present invention relates to fish processing equipment and more particularly to a fish skinner system including a cutting board member and a detachable, hinged plastic cover assembly; the cutting board member having top cutting board surface with a fish skin receiving recess formed into a central top area thereof of a depth of about three-sixteenths of an inch and sized to receive a fish filet with the skin side down within the fish skin receiving recess; the detachable hinged plastic cover assembly having a cutting board end receiving attachment structure that is hingedly attached to a cover plate along a cover plate hinged end of the cover plate; the cover plate being of a length such that, when a cutting board handle end is positioned into a cutting board end receiving cavity of the cutting board end receiving attachment structure, a cover plate distal end edge of the cover plate that is opposite the cover plate hinged end is positionable adjacent to a cutting board far end edge of the cutting board that is opposite the cutting board handle end; the cutting board having a non-skid material on a bottom cutting board surface; the cover plate being pivotal toward the top cutting board surface in a manner to apply a holding force against a fish positioned skin side down in fish skin receiving recess of the top cutting board surface. In a fish skin removal method using the fish skinner of the present invention, a fish filet is positioned with the skin side in the fish skin receiving recess of the cutting board, the cover plate is pushed down on to hold the fish filet in a fixed position with respect to the cutting board and a filet knife is moved along the top cutting board surface cutting through the fish filet directly over the skin as it is moved along the length of the filet with the result being that the fish skin is separated from the remainder of the fish filet in a quick and easy fashion with very little waste.
It is often difficult for a person cleaning fish to flatten and secure the fish while trying to remove the skin from the filet meat of the fish. It would be a benefit, therefore, to have a cover plate and cutting block combination which provided a recess to hold the fish section with the skin down and would allow the user to press down on the cover plate with one hand while moving a filet knife horizontally along the upper surface of the board with the other hand. Since the cutting board has a recess the skin is held in the recess while the cutting blade cuts through the filet meat and is all of the skin
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a fish skinner which includes a rectangular cutting board approximately 21 inches long having a {fraction (3/16)} inch hollowed-out tray type recess along the center thereof. The ends of the device would be rounded and the entire perimeter would also be rounded for comfort. A hinge plastic cover plate with the same length and width of the cutting board would slip onto the end of the board in a manner that would allow the plate to be raised up above the recessed area to insert the filet and then pushed down with the hand to hold the filet in place while the skin is being removed. The bottom of the cutting board is provided with a non-skid type surface to help keep the cutting board from moving while the process is accomplished.
Accordingly, fish skinner is provided. The fish skinner includes a rectangular cutting board approximately 21 inches long having a {fraction (3/16)} inch deep fish skin receiving recess formed through and along the center thereof and a hinged plastic cover plate with the same length and width of the cutting board. In a preferred embodiment of the fish skinner, the cover plate is contoured to accommodate sections of the body of a fish. In another preferred embodiment of the fish skinner, the cover plate has a central open area that is covered by a flexible mesh material secured to the cover plate. The flexible mesh material providing a gripping mechanism for holding the fish securely when the cover plate is pushed down toward the top cutting board surface.